Once my daughter and I completed our first Camino in 2017 (Astorga to Santiago) we responded to the Pilgrim’s Office (Oficina de Acogdia dl Peregrino) to obtain our Compostela. We anxiously waited in line with Pilgrims from around the globe, and once it was our turn to step up to the long counter, we were greeted by a volunteer who asked us a few questions and examined our pilgrim’s passport. He then advised we qualified for our first Compostela. We were then offered an additional document ‘Certificate of Distance’. Although I had not previously heard about this document I ordered one without hesitation.

We were charged 3 euros and received our certificate. which was a beautiful document written in Spanish calligraphy and signed by the Dean of the Cathedral de Santiago. This distance acknowledgment lists our names, starting point, dates of travel and the total Camino distance walked. Some folks have said the kilometer distance is not accurate but this does not matter to me. We also purchased a cardboard mailing tube to safeguard and/or ship our Compostela and ‘Certificate of Distance’ document for only 2 additional euros.

I believe the Pilgrim’s Office only began offering these “Certificate of Distance” documents in 2014 in conjunctions with the traditional Compostela for Pilgrims who reach Santiago de Compostela. The Pilgrim’s office also allows you to request one via email if you were unable to obtain one after your Camino.

I found a neat Camino Website with a comprehensive planning feature for the following Caminos:

Go to the website ( see below for link) and read about the various routes. Enter your data into the simple to use planner and once you figure out which route you want, enter your starting point, such as St Jean Pied de Port, then add your last stop, such as Santiago de Compostela.

This awesome tool then allows the user to check off all sorts of interesting options based on your budget and desires. You can pick the type of lodging you want and various travel amenities, such a municipal lodging or private, WIFI and washing machines. It has a comprehensive list of options. Another great feature is once everything is plugged in you are able to download for future use.

Pilgrim’s Passport or Credential (credencial del peregrino) for the Camino Santiago de Compostela

While traveling on the Camino Santiago de Compostela pilgrims carry small accordion pleated booklet called a credential or pilgrim’s passport. This document is used to identify you as a pilgrim and to track and verify your progress along the camino. The credential has numerous small blank squares, that the pilgrims will eventually fill with inked stamps or ‘sellos’ from albergues, refugios, lodging, churches, police stations, museums, eating/drinking establishments, and tourist sites. Each place has its own unique sellos.

Although it is not required to have a credential to walk the camino, unless you are staying in an albergue ( pilgrim’s hostel), if you want to receive a compostela at the end of your journey, you must carry this document and have at least 2 sellos stamped in it every day from Sarria, Spain until you reach Santiago. The official requirement request 2 sellos per day for the final 100km of walking ( or riding a horse) and 2 stamps per day for final 200km if you are on a bicycle.

Many of the stamps list the town on them and you can obtain one from the innkeeper when you check in at the end of the day and then an additional one from a church or restaurant during while you are walking. You will see stamps and ink pads on most bars when you enter a place to buy a coffee. Just ask any waiter for a Camino sello and he will probably point to it and you will be free to stamp your passport. Excluding albergues, if you do not ask for a stamp you probably won’t get one; it is on you to remember to get your stamps.

Most pilgrims start collecting stamps where ever they begin walking, not just in Sarria. If you start in a far-reaching place like St. Jean Pied de Port, France you might need several credentials because they fill up. Sellos are readily available at most places pilgrims frequent and they become a valuable memento of their Camino experience.

Once you arrive in Santiago proceed to the Pilgrim’s Welcome Office, receive your final stamp and at that point, they will examine your document and if you successfully meet the requirements you will be issued a Compostela which certifies your Camino. You will be allowed to keep both your pilgrim’s passport and your Compostela.

I work up early as I was super excited to start my Camino, only thing was I told Ashley and Nora that I was going to meet them at 8am. There was a chill in the air at 7:15am and the wind was blowing down the cobble lined streets. I waited another 15mins and had to send Ashley a message saying I was going to start and meet up with them later.

I walked about 50m got cashed up and some supplies from one of the only shops open at this hr. Continue out of town it was a steep accent and from previous experience I knew it wasn’t going to let up for the next few hrs.

The weather was sunny but it took a good 30 minuets hiking before I was warm enough to take my jumper off.

After leaving Palais del Rei it happened to be a Sunday and Sundays are different from the rest of the week on the Camino. Many of the services we rely on are closed on Sunday in this part of the country. So there won’t be two breakfasts for us today, no wonderful rest over café con leche and no socializing until we find an open cafe. When we finally find something open we ordered double of everything because we weren’t sure if this would be our last refreshments until supper.

Spain is beautiful and gritty all at the same time. The hills, farmlands and ancient forests are peaceful and spiritual but there is also inspirational pilgrim graffiti scrawled all over the place. Some pilgrims seem to really enjoy reading and photographing the various tags and motivational sayings but I prefer not seeing it. Call me old-fashioned or closed minded but it’s not my thing. My daughter loved reading all the messages so it might be a generational thing.

Many of the kilometer signposts are missing the actual plaque that lists the kilometers .to Santiago. To me this is vandalism and the person who removed the small plaque, possibly for a souvenir, is only hurting the local Camino Associations that have to raise money to replace it and all the pilgrims following the person who stole it.

Sundays also bring out multitudes of bike riders. They are everywhere and are speeding by us slow walking pilgrims. Some are just exercising on the hilly paths and some appear to be pilgrims because they are carrying a lot of gear. They are racing up and down the dirt Camino roads and I was terrified we would be hurt. When the bicyclists are out in full force us pilgrims have to remain alert or risk colliding with the bikers.

The wonderful old town of Portomarin is a joy to visit for a pilgrim. There are plenty of outdoor restaurants, discount and grocery stores and plenty of places to hang your laundry to dry. The town’s square includes the Church of San Juan, a building that is both a church and a small castle. This town is packed with road-weary pilgrims enjoying the fine outdoor cafes which surround the plaza. If I could have stayed for an extra night just to relax and soak in the Camino vibe I would but it was time to move on.

Pilgrim Statue pointing towards Santiago in Portomarin, Spain.

This is a photo of the sun yard right directly in front of our room at the Casa do Mestro hotel in Portomarin, Spain. The building right outside of the wall is the St. Juan Church.

The next day was a blur. Pilgrims were everywhere on the trail, lots of small villages to walk through and unrelenting heat. Busloads of pilgrims from all over Europe, Asia, and South America were now on the way heading to Santiago. At one point we were walking with two young men from Korea when one mentioned they were from North Korea. What a wonderful experience for my daughter to realize that not everyone from North Korea hated Americans. They were wearing expensive Patagonia clothing so I assume they weren’t typical citizens from DPRK.

Hundreds of Spanish school children are now on the Camino on school field trips. They were singing songs, laughing and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I felt sorry for my child because she clearly did not fit in but this was to be expected because she was walking with her mom and they were with their classmates. But she did not seem to mind and she received lots of second looks from the teenage boys but she was too young to notice.

Pilgrims from all over the globe wear their flags draped on their backpacks. Here a Chinese Pilgrim with his flag.

We saw more than 1 family today pushing baby strollers up the steep hills and through the rocky paths. These baby stroller-pushing families should be awarded a medal, I know I would never be able to do it.

Families pushing baby strollers on the Camino

After about 7 hours of walking, we arrived at the town of Palas de Rei. After some searching, we realized our lodging was located directly over a noisy bar. In fact, I had to enter the bar to obtain the keys to our room. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds because the room was spotless with cute twin beds and extra soft blankets in the bureau but the windows opened into a nondescript courtyard. I ensured the door was locked at all times and since there was no lobby I was not 100% comfortable staying there with my daughter.

This town was my least favorite place on the Camino, but it could have been because we were now just plain tired and worn out. In my opinion, there was nothing exciting or interesting about this place and the highlight was watching the local children riding their skateboards in the towns’ square. The Camino route in Palas dd Rei is on a steep paved hill and although the population is 3,500 it seemed more industrial than rural to me.

We ate supper with an atheist Pilgrim we briefly met the night before. She was from the UK and she despised the United States, the United Kingdom, and all other wealthy nations. Her goal in life seemed to be lecture everyone she met and ensure they were as miserable as she was. At one point she told me her husband had left her and I have to admit I couldn’t blame him. I quickly realized I did not want to spend one more minute with her, so I bought her a glass of wine and made up a story about needed to go make a call and we parted ways.

If you are in Yellowstone National Park and want to travel to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, I suggest an overnight stop in Cody, Wyoming. Buffalo Bill’s hometown has everything you could wish for in an authentic Western town including American Indians, cowboys, horses, and rodeos. Cody was my hands-down favorite stop outside the National Parks on a 14 day trip from Seattle to South Dakota.

To drive from East Yellowstone to Cody take the Scenic Byway of Highway 20 through the Wapiti Valley. President Theodore Roosevelt called this stretch of highway the “fifty most beautiful miles in America” and I concur.

East Yellowstone National Park to Cody, Wyoming

We drove this route a few years ago and the views and sights never end. At one point we saw about 50 wild horses running as a pack in a field about 20 feet from our vehicle. This drive is definitely a white knuckles type of journey because you are way up on a mountain pass and the drop down to the river is very deep. I would not do it again but am forever grateful that we experienced this special place.

As a mom and lover of all things National Parks, I am happy to say that I took my child and parents to Mount Rushmore in Keystone, South Dakota. I guess we will be heading back there soon because I want to see the Dignity statue as soon as possible.

South Dakota has 6 National Parks but is so vast it can take all day to drive across. We only visited a few places in the Rapid City area which I will write about in future blogs.

The purpose of this current blog is two-fold:

1. I just wanted to congratulate Dale Lamphere for designing and constructing the incredible statue named Dignityin Chamberlain, South Dakota. The 50-foot stainless steel statue depicts a native American woman dressed in pioneer clothing and holding a quilt over her shoulders. The quilt contains a star, an important symbol to the Lakota and Dakota cultures which is equated with honor. This statue honors the Native Americans who hail from that area of South Dakota. This beautiful statue symbolizes pride, strength, and durability of the native cultures. It was dedicated to all the people of South Dakota in 2016. I definitely want to visit Dignity someday.

2. I started a National Park Planning and Logistics Group on Facebook and I would love if you could join in. This small group is being formed so members can post suggestions on how to plan a trip to our majestic National Parks and how to save money while doing it. The group is comprised of people who share a passion for travel to our parks and those who are in the planning stages and want to ask questions or voice concerns.

After a long, peaceful week on the Camino we felt part of the Camino family. We knew what we were supposed to do and say to everyone, and most importantly what to expect each day. Get up, walk, eat and rest, nothing more, nothing less.

Once we arrived in Sarria, Spain the atmosphere quickly changed and the peaceful calm of the previous trail was gone. There were pilgrims everywhere and they looked clean and energized with their sparkling new clothes and equipment. Sarria, Spain is the starting points for most pilgrims walking the Camino because the final 100 kilometers it is the least distance you can walk and still qualify for a Compestela once you arrive in Santiago. It was exciting to see so many new faces and groups but I was a little melancholy that the experience as I had known it, was over.

We stayed in a new albergue called Albergue Puente Ribeira in Sarria, right on the canal that runs through the Camino area. We loved our albergue because it was near all the action including a street fair and many restaurants. Puente Ribeira is super clean, modern and had several washers and dryers so we were able to sanitize our disgusting clothes and towels. Here is the website and I do absolutely recommend this place.

My clothes were falling off me because I lost weight from the heat and longs hikes so we stop by the local Rhodani Sports Store and bought new trail pants and shirts. Yea! The store was well stocked and the prices were similar to REI or Dicks in the US but they did not have a lot or any XL women clothes so I bought men’s clothes. Here’s the website:

We enjoyed some seafood and rice at one of the many cafes along the canal and then retired to our much-loved room to prepare for the final 100 kilometers of our Camino.

The next morning, we departed our albergue and jumped right back on the Camino which was located behind our albergue. All the additional pilgrims ensured the peacefulness and serenity of our prior days had disappeared, but it wasn’t unexpected. We had been warned the most people start their Camino in Sarria and it was true.

Leaving Sarria Area

Elizabeth on the way

Crossing tracks on the Camino

We wandered through beautiful hills, forest, and some older farming villages. We peeked into some of the open barns to gaze at enormous cows and enjoyed listening to the roosters trying to wake everyone up. Although the Camino had now changed for us it was still a simple place.

Barns on the Camino

Locals butchering an animal

Donkey on the Camino

The Crowds have arrived on the Camino

This day was long but it was relatively flat. After lunch, I swore we had walked at least 30 miles but it was probably only about 15. Today’s endeavor just would not end. Just when I thought I couldn’t go on anymore we approached the River Mino and the Camino trail went over the bridge over the river. Portomarin was our final destination for the day and it was just on the other side of the bridge.

Walking over the bridge was the most frightened I was our entire time in Spain. It was built high above the water and the cars sped by us pilgrims. I thought for sure we were going to get hit and tossed straight down into the River Minho. Looking back at the pictures it doesn’t look so precipitous as I remember but I guarantee you if you are the least bit afraid of heights you will not like anything about this bridge. Funny, but my 12-year-old wasn’t concerned about the terrifying bridge in the least. She was singing along with her music and devoid of any fear. Silly girl.

After timidly crossing the bridge we then faced a steep set of stairs up into Portomarin.

Will we ever finish this ‘easy’ day?? The stairs were a beast but the view the entire up is stunning, so we took our time and just kept climbing. Unfortunately, after climbing the stairs and entering this charming town we discovered this town was built on a steep hill and the main church and our lodging were at the top of this hill. Somehow we made arrived at our Refugio and were happy with our accomplishments.

Scary bridge on the Camino Santiago

View of the Bridge from Portomarin.

Portomarin Spain Sign on Camino Santiago

Portomarin was definitely one of our favorite places. The main plaza has great restaurants where pilgrims congregate to socialize and discuss the day’s events.